soil-science

Long-term plastic mulching leads to microplastic buildup in soils, gradually reducing soil quality and biological function—raising concerns about the sustainability of widely used agricultural practices

Green compost can help restore soils contaminated by antibiotics and copper, improving fertility, boosting plant growth, and even limiting antibiotic resistance—highlighting its potential as a sustainable tool for soil recovery

Coffee residues can be transformed into compost, Bokashi, and biochar to improve soil health. This approach recycles nutrients, reduces waste, and supports more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems.

A hands-on workshop at URI brought together professionals from across New England to learn how evaluating soil helps ensure septic systems protect groundwater, ecosystems, and public health.

Scientists are examining how ‘blood rain’ affects soil microbiome, with Portuguese vineyards a particular focus Dust events, when thousands of tonnes of fine sand whipped up from the Sahara are dumped over Europe, are becoming more intense. These sometimes produce “blood rain” that leaves visible red streaks, and while generally harmless, the dust is not sterile but brings a freight of microorgan…

Soils that are exposed to prolonged drought often develop desiccation cracks, which impact soil properties and exacerbate moisture loss through evapotranspiration. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines the evolution of soil cracking and how cracks interact with storage and movement of water in the soil.

Researchers have developed a simpler, more cost-effective method to measure a biologically important form of phosphorus in soils, providing new insights into nutrient cycling that could help improve sustainable agricultural management. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plant growth and global food production, yet its natural reserves are finite. Understanding how phosphorus is stored, trans…

Heavy plowing can impair water’s flow through the ground. The problem was found by “listening” to tiny seismic signals caused by rain infiltrating the soil.

Seqana, a digital MRV company that quantifies soil health using satellite imagery and machine learning, has announced the close of a EUR 3.2 million funding round led by Pymwymic, with participation from existing investors HTGF and Counteract. The investment will further Seqana's work on soil carbon quantification and extend it into a broader set of soil health indicators, giving food, fiber, and…

Smart nano-fertilizers promise a revolution in precision agriculture, eliminating massive chemical runoff. But beneath the environmental praise lies a toxic blind spot: what happens to the inorganic delivery vehicles once their payload is gone? We are risking long-term soil toxicity.

IntroductionMicrobial necromass carbon (MNC) is a cornerstone of stable soil organic carbon (SOC), yet how biochar amendments impact its dynamics over time remains poorly understood.MethodsHere, we investigated the temporal response of MNC in a sorghum-cultivated soil amended with vinasse biochar produced at four pyrolysis temperatures (350–650 °C) over a 120-day experiment using amino sugar biom…

BackgroundHealthy soils provide foundational ecosystem services for human well-being, known as Soil Ecosystem Services (SESs). Ecosystem and landscape transformations in Sub-Sahara Africa have resulted in a significant decline in soil health and the services it provides. This deterioration is primarily driven by overexploitation of natural resources, climate change, unsustainable agricultural pra…

This study examines the potential of Sentinel-2 (S2) temporal mosaics (TM) of non-vegetated soils to enhance soil property mapping in the semi-arid Sminja Plain, Tunisia (480 km2). Using multi-season data from 2019 to 2023, TMs were generated with two processing platforms, Google Earth Engine (GEE) and THEIA, and their predictive performances were compared. Non-vegetated soils were isolated using…